Liberal Sotomayor Won’t Attend SCOTUS In Person Because Gorsuch Won’t Wear A Mask: Report

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is reportedly refusing to take part in person when the Supreme Court takes the bench for one reason: Justice Neil Gorsuch steadfastly refuses to wear a mask, according to a report.

Sotomayor, who has diabetes and has been the only justice to wear a mask since the Court resumed activity in fall of 2021, will only join the other justices through a microphone setup in her chambers. After Chief Justice John Roberts reportedly requested that all the justices wear a mask because of the Omicron surge, Gorsuch, who sits next to Sotomayor on the bench, refused, according to NPR.

Fox News partly contradicted NPR’s report, stating Tuesday evening that a source at the Supreme Court “says there has been no blanket admonition or request from Chief Justice Roberts that the other Justices begin wearing masks to arguments.”

🚨EXCLUSIVE@FoxNews Supreme Court reporter @ShannonBream airs inaccurate reporting today by @NinaTotenberg:

“A source at the Supreme Court says there has been no blanket admonition or request from Chief Justice Roberts that the other Justices begin wearing masks to arguments.” pic.twitter.com/petcj6q1nK

— 🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸 (@mrddmia) January 19, 2022

CNBC noted that Gorsuch was “the only justice in the courtroom not to wear a mask during oral arguments,” while both Justices Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer participated remotely. “Breyer, at 83 the oldest member of the court, stayed out of the courtroom after a spokesperson said he received the results of a Covid test that was later determined to be a false positive,” the outlet reported. – READ MORE